Saturday, 19 November 2016

Freeze Framing Liquid DNA

On Tuesday we went to the Red Kite roost again. It was a sunny, calm day, so a few Red Kites were becalmed in trees, but there were also a few flying around. One of them was so relaxed it left its liquid DNA behind just as it flew past us! The walk into the village was more profitable than Sunday afternoon with great views of the Grey Wagtail, a pair of Treecreepers and a Marsh Tit heard sneezing. A Great Spotted Woodpecker called from the top of a tree, and a few Siskins flew over, but remained fairly hard to see clearly.

Red Kite with green vegetation

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A squiggle of liquid DNA below

Perched Red Kite

With added Colour (c) 2016 Maggie Bruce

Grey Wagtail (c) 2016 Maggie Bruce

Grey Wagtail (c) 2016 MJF

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Great Spotted Woodpecker (c) 2016 Maggie Bruce

Treecreeper (c) 2016 Maggie Bruce

After 'work' I tried out the Hen Harrier location again. 2 of those showed well, and a couple of Short-eared Owls were flying around. Apparently, there are 7 of these in the area now, plus at least 2 Barn Owls.

Short-eared Owl

Hen Harrier

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On Wednesday we travelled to Potteric Carr. It was a dry windy day, and the forecast wasn't too good, but the rain didn't really materialise. The Kingfisher remained hard to get on Mother Drain, but at least 3 Little Egrets were present.

Huxter Well came up trumps when Anthony spotted a Bittern flying along the reeds, before attempting a clumsy landing in the edge of the reeds. The afternoon group spotted a range a fungi including Fly Agaric and a Field Blewit in addition to the perpetual Hoof/Tinder Furgus and the Birch Polypore/Razorstrop Fungus.

Record shot of Bittern (c) 2016 Tony Robinson

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Piper Marsh was better than last week, but still rather disappointing. Some of the long-staying am group performed a full circuit of the massive Reedbed, where they saw some Whooper Swans and a Bar-headed Goose. They had a close encounter with an immature Wood Mouse, which also happened to the afternoon group in a different area. We found some earthstars, and an unusual thin vase-like fungi.

Wood Mouse

Wood Mouse (c) 2016 Tony Robinson

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Earthstars

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Fly Agaric

Pipe Club Macrotyphula fistulosa var. fistulosa

Common Darter (c) 2016 Tony Robinson

Mother Drain with Little Egret

The Thursday groups went to RSPB Blacktoft Sands. The day started well with glorious sunshine, but it soon clouded over. The afternoon session commenced in absolutely pelting rain, but it eased off when we were in our first hide, and the sun soon broke through again.

Xerox hide has recently been landscaped for waders, and it has already paid dividends with improved views of Spotted Redshank, many Snipe, some bog-standard Redshanks, and a snoozing Black-tailed Godwit.

Spotted Redshank

Snipe & Dunlin

Male Marsh Harrier

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Marsh Harrier

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Dunlin

Another highlight was the Fieldfare at lunch time which came down to drink from a puddle near the entrance before the deluge from the heavens made the drinking holes much more universal.

Fieldfare

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Lapwing roosting Black-tailed Godwit (far left)

Record shot of Goldcrest

On Friday the bad weather forecast meant we changed to Tophill Low. Both South Marsh East & West were relatively devoid of birds. The highlight here was an afternoon Woodcock which flew from the River Hull and over the hide we were sat in. The most profitable location was Watton Borrow Pits. A Redhead Smew was permanently on display with a good selection of other wildfowl including Shoveler, Teal, Shelduck, Wigeon, but very few Tufted Duck and absolutely no Pochard. In the morning there were also a handful of Redshank, but no Curlew. A couple of Buzzards flew in including one with a great deal of white on its legs and underside. Claude spotted a Mistle Thrush perched on the unused Sand Martin home, its feathers clearly ruffled by the strong winds. In the afternoon there were 6 Cormorants in roosting position in the guano tree. A female Goldeneye was swimming right in front of the D reservoir, which proved a fitting way to conclude the morning session.

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Bookings for the 10-week Spring term has started. At the time of writing there are a couple of vacancies on Thursday afternoons, followed by Wednesday afternoons and Friday afternoons. I'm afraid I cannot take any more bookings on the Tuesday morning or Friday morning sessions. If you are interested in another session, please ask. For at least 2 hours a week encounter the natural world as a completely new sensual experience. You'll be amazed what you'll find just by listening, and not only by looking! In the Spring we'll be paying special attention to birdsong. If you want help sorting out your Sedge Warblers from your Reed Warblers, and pointing out the differences between singing Blackcaps and Garden Warblers then this is the place to be. We are going to locations where you will hopefully see, and not just hear Cuckoos. We are also planning to visit sites with Turtle Doves, Redstarts and other special summer visitors. So, if you are interested in learning more about your local wildlife in beautiful and secluded venues for less than £10 a week, then this is the course for you! We visit a different local hotspot each week and identify all the birds and as much other wildlife as we can. This also includes mammals, and fungi with butterflies, and dragonflies. The course runs twice daily Tuesday to Friday. If you are interested in more details of the course, or wish to be placed on a waiting list, please leave a comment next to one of my posts or email me on mflowers81@live.co.uk

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